Teaching

Below are descriptions for two courses that I designed and taught as the sole instructor at UMass Amherst. Their syllabi are available upon request. A full list of my teaching-related experience and awards can be found in my CV.

Government and Politics of the Middle East

This course introduces students to contemporary politics in the Middle East. The goal is to provide students with the theoretical and empirical knowledge necessary to address the following questions about Middle Eastern countries: How were states formed during and after colonization? How has this history influenced conflicts between different religious and ethnic groups? Why is authoritarianism so persistent in the region? How is Islam mobilized for different political agendas, and why have Islamic activists become so influential? What does the fight for equality between genders and sexual minorities look like? What was the Arab Spring, why did it happen, and what hope is there for people’s movements in the region?

Interpretation and Analysis

This course is designed to develop students’ hard skills of communication and analysis in the social sciences. It is practice-oriented. That is, students will improve upon these skills through exercises focused on writing, reading, and revision. This will include analyzing and evaluating arguments and evidence of assigned readings. But most of the class will be devoted to producing original material, including an op-ed, literature review, and a resume and cover letter for a job or graduate school application. Students will also conduct political science research and present their findings in both a final paper and an in-class presentation. The course satisfies the University’s junior year writing requirement.

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